Washington State Supreme Court’s decision in Wolf v. Washington
In partnership with Washington Defender Association (WDA), Sexual Violence Law Center (SVLC), and Legal Voice, FVAP filed an amicus curiae brief to address the issue of the lower courts’ rulings that placed untenable burdens upon Black and Indigenous children and youth, who disproportionally experience sexual abuse and violence while in foster care, from seeking redress from negligent acts by third parties, such as the State.
We are pleased to report the Washington State Supreme Court agreed the broad avenues of civil redress under RCW 4.16.340 as the Washington State Legislature intended mean that a negligence claim against such a third party doesn’t accrue until the victim recognizes the connection between the third party’s wrongful conduct and the victim’s resulting injury.
This opinion makes it possible for survivors who experienced childhood sexual abuse in foster care, predominantly Black and Indigenous dependent children and youth, to draw causal connections between their caretakers’ negligent actions and the promise and duty of the State to protect them.
